


Feera (Gnoll)

by TheTravelerWrites



Series: Monster Lovers: Shelter Forest [8]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Attempted Murder, Attempted Murder by Spouse, Attempted Murder by Spouse's Mistress, Blood, Buried Alive, Exophilia, F/M, First Person Perspective, Gnoll, Grevious Bodily Injury, Infidelity, Monster Boyfriend, Slit Throat, Stabbing, Stitches, Surgery, Unhappy marriage, accidental injury, children mention, first person POV, male reader - Freeform, period mention
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-25
Updated: 2019-05-29
Packaged: 2020-03-17 08:06:16
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 15,409
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18961231
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheTravelerWrites/pseuds/TheTravelerWrites
Summary: While protecting their crops from a flash flood, Feera catches a whiff of human blood and finds a woman clinging to life in the forest.





	1. Chapter 1

A sudden downpour had sent the family scrambling to secure coverings over the crops. It was looking like flash flood weather, and we had to get the rain barrels and gulleys set up around the perimeter of the field to deal with the excess run off before it washed out the rows and our entire harvest was lost.

Rain was a good source of clean drinking water for when the surface of the river froze over in the winter, so whenever there was a deluge like this one, we collected as much of it as we could and kept it in the old cave, which protected it from freezing.

My brother, Kurra, and I had just finished setting out the last one, completely drenched and shivering, when I caught it, a faint whiff of blood.

“Kurra,” I said, lifting my head and sniffing the air. “Smell that?”

Kurra paused and mimicked me. “Is that blood?” He asked.

“Smells like it. Human.”

He shrugged, eager to get back to the house and lay in front of the fire. “Maybe one of the girls started their monthly courses.”

I shook my wet head. “You know that smells different. This is… this smells like a wound. Like deep blood, near the heart.” I got down on all fours and prepared to sprint. “Come on, let’s find it.”

Kurra sighed and got down on all fours as well, and we took off between the trees.

My kind are notorious for our speed and stamina when running, so in no time at all we had covered miles of distance and stumbled into a thicket that reeked of blood on the very edge of Asker’s territory, which was not small in the least.

“I don’t see anything,” Kurra said.

“Sniff around, there’s something here,” I said, searching the ground. “There’s so much blood, I can’t smell anything else.”

“Yeah, I think I found it,” He said, lifting his paw. Red seeped up from under the soil in the impression of his paw print. The ground he stood on had been recently disturbed; it was a blank span of earth with no vegetation growing on it.

“Dig,” I said, scooping the soil and throwing it between my back legs. Kurra followed suit. As we dug deeper, the blood was wetter, fresher, and I stopped once I realize one of my claws had gone through the flesh of an arm. Panicked, I used the sides of my paws to scoop away the dirt to uncover what had been buried there. I was startled to uncover a young human woman.

“It’s a girl!” Kurra said in shock. “Is she alive?”

“Help me lift her!” I said, and we pulled her from what was to be her grave. I pressed my ear to her chest. “She lives! There’s a heartbeat, but it’s faint. Run! Get Mama!”

Kurra sprinted off like a loosed arrow and I tried to shield the poor woman from the rain with my body. She was bleeding from several wounds to her chest and stomach, not to mention the clawing I had just given her arm, as well as an ugly, ragged gash on her neck that she had her hand wrapped around, keeping the dirt and water from getting in.

I looked over my shoulder anxiously, wondering what was taking so long, when she grabbed the fur of my chest weakly, tangling it in her blood covered fingers. Looking back, I saw her eyes open, looking at me with a pained expression.

“He… help…” She rasped, her voice ragged from the injury to her throat. She gulped and gurgled wetly. “Please… he killed me… they killed me…”

I grabbed her hand. “Don’t try to talk. Just hold on, lass. Help is coming. Just hang in there.”

“Feera!” I heard my mother call over the rain. The large shadow of my father’s wings fell over me and the young woman. “What’s happened?” She asked as she climbed down from his back.

“Someone buried a woman out here!” I called back. “She’s not dead but she’s in bad shape. Been stabbed, it looks like.”

“Hurry, get her back to the house. We need to get her cleaned up and assess the damage. We may not be able to save her, but we can damn sure try.”

I nodded, carefully lifting the woman into my arms. She cried out in pain as I moved her, carrying her bridal style, and I dashed back toward the house.

Inside, Yala and Caeli were heating water, sterilizing tools, and preparing healing herbs and other medical supplies. Mother was the best healer we knew, and Lymera studied with her all the time. Between them, they might have a chance and saving the girl’s life.

I was directed to take her into the washing room, which we used to clean off all the dirt and muck from the field and hunting instead of dirtying the river. This room had a gulley pipe that took all the dirty water back outside and around to the outhouse; Cetzu’s invention.

Kurra pushed two of the benches together to make a short table, and I laid the girl onto it. She was breathing in short, ragged gasps, shivering from the cold and loss of blood, while more blood dripped freely onto the floor.

“Mother, quickly!” I shouted.

The women of the family filed into the room like army ants and shooed me out as Yala began to cut the ragged, filthy, blood-soaked gown off of the woman’s body. Mother grabbed me and told me with a grim face to bring a long knife and more firewood.

“We need to cauterize the wounds, or she’s going to bleed to death before we can help her,” She told me. “Hurry, son!”

I rushed to get the biggest knife I could find and handed it to her through the door.

“What’s going on?” Cetzu asked as he entered the house. Reed and the centaur boys were on the covered front porch, looking in through the open windows, still dripping from being out in the rain.

“Someone buried a woman alive on the edge of Asker’s territory,” Kurra replied. “There’s no telling how long she was laid there. She may be too far gone, but Mama and the girls are doing what they can.”

“That’s horrifying,” Birch said in disgust, shuddering involuntarily. “Who would do something so evil?”

“I think she knows who did it,” I replied grimly. “While I was waiting for Mother, she said something like ‘he killed me’ or ‘they killed me.’ I think she knows her attackers.”

“Well, I hope she’s able to tell us, at least,” Kurra said. “So we can hunt the bastards down.”

“Slow down, there, son,” Declan said. “The rain is letting up. Why don’t you and your brother go back to where you found her and see if you can find anything that could give us clues as to who she is or where she came from. We need more information before we act.” He gestured at the taur boys. “Take them with you. You need as many eyes as possible.”

“Yes, Papa,” I grumbled. We could use their help, sure, but they’d slow us down. Tuars of most races could run fast, but the four legged ones, like Birch, Yew, and Reed, didn’t have the same stamina as gnolls and tired quickly. We’d have to go at a slower pace to accommodate them.

We took off back toward the site where we’d found the young woman just as the rain stopped. As the house disappeared behind us, her anguished screams of agony as Mother began cauterizing the wounds followed us into the darkening forest.

We made it back to the site of the burial much more slowly than before, and night was falling. Kurra and I could see just fine in the dark, but the taurs were as blind as humans at night. They at least had a better sense of smell than humans.

“Oh, gods, this place reeks of blood,” Reed said, choking a little. Not surprising; both he and the centaurs were obligate vegetarians. They literally didn’t have the stomach for blood.

“Ugh!” I growled. “We should have brought Cetzu or Toklo. They’d have been more help than you lot!”

“Oi!” Yew retorted. “Papa told us to come, so deal with it! Besides, Cetzu can’t come this far! Asker doesn’t like how he smells. And Toklo took Sayo and Asahi fishing! So you’re stuck with us!”

“Yew, shut up,” Kurra said. “I found something.”

I looked to him and saw he was pulling a bag out of the grave in which we’d found the woman. It was a woman’s large leather travel bag with a wide, woven strap with embroidered flowers on it, though the colors were hard to tell since it was caked in soil.

I took it from him and examined the strap, wiping the dirt off as best I could. There, under a little bee, the name _Erisandra_ was embroidered in what looked like red.

“We’ve got a name, at least. Erisandra,” I said. “Let’s get back to the house. We’ll look through this and see if we can find some clue as to where she lives.”

Back home, the woman we now knew was named Erisandra had been cleaned and stitched. Mother had prepared a poultice of honey, echinachea, and goldenseal while Lymera attempted to get her to drink to replenish her body’s fluids. Mother was not confident about the woman’s chance of survival. The next few days would be telling, but if she got an infection, there was no hope.

Mother called me into the washing room and asked me to carefully move her to one of the small guest rooms on the ground floor. She was nude and still wet from the washing of the filth from her body. Her many injuries were wrapped in bandages and she was covered in a thin sheet. Free of the blood and dirt, I could see that she was fair complected with freckles on her nose and shoulders, and had blonde hair that was jaggedly cut off at the ear. She was thin, perhaps malnourished, and looked to be tall; taller than any of my human family. She’d have come to my chin if we were both standing at our full height.

Once she was moved and resting with Lymera, Soraya, and Yala tending to her, Mother, Caeli, and I cleaned out her bag and laid out it’s contents on the dining table. It was mostly clothes and small personal items, nothing that would give us any indication of which village she had come from or who her would-be killer or killers could have been.

“Well, there’s nothing of use here,” Mother said. “Let’s pack it all back up, just in case by some miracle she survives to take possession of it.”

I picked up one of the folded gowns and was about to place it back inside the bag when I felt a stiffness in between the fabric. Carefully, I extracted a small red book.

I couldn’t tell you what in my mind made me decide to take the book. I can’t begin to understand why I silently hid it in the fur of my underarm while no one was watching and continued to pack up the bag as instructed as if I hadn’t just stolen something personal from a dying woman. But it was an impulse I couldn’t ignore.

That evening, me and the two-legged boys went to our room and lay down in our usual pile of bodies. Cetzu, Kurra, Toklo, Asahi, and I always nested together for warmth. I lay curled around Asahi for hours, unable to fall asleep, when I finally placed my fox-like little brother on Cetzu’s stomach without waking him and sat up.

The book kept revolving around in my head. I had hidden it on my bookshelf and my eye kept wandering to it. I gave up on sleep and got to my feet, snatching the book from the shelf and going back downstairs to the quiet ground floor.

The fire in the hearth was still smoldering, so I blew it back to life and lit a few candles to read by. I sat at the dinner table and opened the cover to realize it was a diary.

I knew I shouldn’t have read it. These sorts of things are intensely private. I could have justified that it was for the purpose of learning who she was and where she was from, but I knew better. The curiosity was just too much for me to bear.

Mother always said my curiosity would get me bitten in the ass one day. Today might have been that day.

 

    July 25

_Mother has given me this diary as a wedding gift, to document my happy life as a new bride, but will I be happy, I wonder?_

_The wedding is tomorrow. I like Rory, and we’ve been friends for a long time, but I’m not sure I love him nor that he loves me. He asked me to marry him and I accepted, but mostly because it would benefit the both of us to do so. He needs a wife to run his household and I need a husband to take care of me. Mother is ill and cannot work and Father passed last harvest. The house we live in is owned by my uncle, so I will need a new home when poor Mother dies. Rory himself has been on his own since he was fifteen, but his parents left him their house. He’s well off and has had a maid tend the place, but he insists that a wife would do the job better. I can’t say I disagree._

_We are friends, and this is a good opportunity for both of us, I know that. But to be honest, I’ve always dreamed of falling in love. I know that’s not possible for everyone, but I had hoped._

_It’s no matter. We will be good to each other. That’s what’s important_.

 

    July 27

_I’m a married woman now. The wedding was lovely. The wedding night was… less so. Mother prepared me, but it was still unpleasant. She assures me it’ll be easier in time._

_Falling into a routine was much less difficult. Rory works most of the day, and I can do my own work in the house without him underfoot. He comes home, we share a meal, talk of our day, and go to bed. It’s comfortable and familiar, much like living with Mother, except for the… wifely duties. I’m sure I’ll get used to that eventually._

 

    September 24

_I think I’m falling for Rory. He brought me flowers yesterday for no reason at all. And he hadn’t picked them somewhere, he’d actually bought them! He comes home at lunch time just so he can talk with me. This feels different than friendship. I find myself enjoying being intimate with him now. He’s more attentive to me and talks of children. Oh, I’d love to give him a son!_

_It’s exactly what I wanted, if not exactly in the order I expected, but that’s no issue now. We’re in love and it’s wonderful._

 

The passages were dated nearly three years prior and carried on in the same vein for about a year: how happy she was, how in love they were, how good he was to her. I smiled. It was sweet, in a girlish way. I wondered if all women thought like this. My sisters were all different outwardly, but who could guess a woman’s private thoughts?

Halfway into the second year, however, the tone shifted suddenly.

 

    February 11

_Rory has been distant lately. We haven’t made love in weeks. I wonder if he’s angry that I haven’t become pregnant yet. I’ve asked him, but he says he’s not upset with me, that he’s just busy with work and tired. There has been an expansion in town, so I’m sure he has been working very hard with the other men to build the new houses and roads. I just feel a space between us now. I hope it passes soon._

 

    April 3

_Rory’s been acting strangely. He’s evasive and cold. He barely speaks to me anymore and he stays out late. I’ve tried to make myself as appealing to him as I can, but he won’t touch me._

_What have I done to push him away? Is it because there’s no child yet? Am I a bad wife? I wish he would talk to me and tell me what it is I’m doing wrong so I could change it, but he says nothing. In fact, frequently he shushes me and tells me to stop bothering him with silly questions. He’s never spoken to me like that before._

_Mother is getting worse and I’m hesitant to bring my woes to her. My friends tell me I should just be thankful he doesn’t beat me and that I have a roof over my head and food in my mouth. Perhaps they’re right, but… I want what we had a year ago. We were so happy. What did I do wrong?_

 

I felt a pang of pity for her. The entries got more and more woeful as time progressed. She wrote of feeling trapped and alone, how no one she talked to understood why she was complaining so she just stopped talking to them altogether, which made her feel even more isolated. She talked of how despondent she felt, and how she had no appetite and slept poorly every night, about how she must be ugly and stupid and not good enough.

The passages that began three months ago became alarming.

 

    March 29

_He only comes home to eat and sleep now, otherwise I don’t see him at all. Rory turned up today around lunchtime after having been missing for two days. I was worried sick, but he told me to stop over-reacting. He claimed he got lost in the forest, though he reeked of ale._

_I’ve gone so far as to ask his friends about where he was, but they tell me nothing. He was angry that I had done so and left the house again for another three days. He’s been drinking more and more lately, and I don’t know what to do about it. I don’t know where he goes or where he’s getting the ale, since the tavern has yet to be built._

_What is happening to him?_

 

The next few pages were smudged with tears.

 

    May 17

_There’s another woman. I should have guessed. I caught them in the act earlier this evening in the woods when I went to gather mushrooms for his dinner. He came home and acted as if nothing happened. He had the nerve to sleep in the same bed as me. I want to kick him out of the house, but it’s his house. I cannot go to my mother, as she now lives with a friend who is caring for her in her final days. I have nowhere to go._

 

The next, and last, entry was dated three days ago.

 

    June 18

_Mother has passed. She left me a will that said she was worried for me and saving money. She left me quite enough to start over somewhere else, enough perhaps to buy my own little cottage and live by myself without having to rely on a man._

_I have not told Rory about the money or that I’m leaving him. He’s home so little these days, I doubt he’d notice that I’m gone._

_I don’t have much in the way of possessions here, just my clothes, a few trinkets, and this diary. Erasing myself from Rory’s life will be no trouble at all. Hopefully I can find happiness elsewhere. He and his whore can live in the house that I kept for him. Let them rot in it._

 

The rest of the pages were blank. I got up from the table and peeked into her room. She lay quiet and breathing softly, though there was still a ragged thread running through it that sounded painful. Her bag was laying next to her bunk and I grabbed it, taking it back to the dining room.

Upon searching it a second time, I found no money whatsoever. What an absolute cock. If I ever met this Rory fellow, I’d rip his throat out with my teeth. I replaced the diary in the bag and put it back in the room next to her bed. I went back to my own room and lay down alone, away from my brothers with a curious and sudden aversion to touch. I didn’t sleep.

Weeks passed before Erisandra was strong enough to do anything on her own, even feed or clean herself. She seemed in a daze through most of it and didn’t react to most things. She struggled to eat around the wound in her neck and only answered basic questions with a nod or shake of the head. Mother told us that she was in shock and that she needed time. The fact that she was alive at all was something to be grateful for.

Caeli had cut her hair so that it wasn’t so choppy, but it was extremely short. It must have been a glorious mane when it was long. Her wounds healed slowly, but after about two weeks, we were confident enough that they wouldn’t reopen spontaneously and the bandages were left off.

The damage was terrible to look at, and it hurt her to move, but Mother made her get up at least once a day to walk the porch a few times, to get air and circulate her blood. She said that clots were a problem for people who lay still for long periods of time. Standing up and moving about for a little while helped prevent them.

One morning, as I exchanged her empty water pitcher with a full one, I heard a raspy voice say, “Am I dead?”

I turned, and she was looking right at me, her eyes unclouded.

“No, you’re not dead,” I replied. “But you came close to it. Is your name Erisandra?”

“Yes,” She said. “How’d you know?”

“It’s on your bag,” I said, pointing to it.

“Oh, right,” She murmured. “I go by Eris, though.”

“I’m Feera.”

She narrowed her eyes at me. “Do I know you? You look familiar.”

“My brother and I dug you up from the ground,” I replied.

“I don’t remember that,” She said. “I’ve seen you before, in my village.”

“What is your village called?”

“The elders haven’t decided on a name for it yet. It’s still relatively new. Most of it is still being built. But we’re close to the Willowshield stronghold, if that helps.”

“Ah, yes, I do remember that place. My brother and I delivered some supplies there once or twice. It did look newly settled. Progress must be slow going, if the tavern hasn’t even been built yet. That’s usually one of the first things to get built.”

“What?” She asked in confusion.

“Oh…” I grimaced. “I, uh… I read your diary. Forgive me, but we were trying to find some clue about who you were and where you came from. It seemed like the best chance we had.”

_Liar._

“Ah, I see,” She said quietly. She turned to look out of the window and her gaze became distant.

Diffidently, I asked her, “Did he do this?”

She didn’t answer immediately, and when she did, her voice was quiet.

“He said we were going to start over, that he was sorry, that he would never see that bitch again. He was going to go to sell his house and we’d go to another town and build or buy a new one. I hadn’t told him about the money, so I thought he meant it. I thought he loved me and wanted me to stay with him. I was willing to give him another chance. He told me not to bring to much with me, since we’d be staying with his family at first. That once we had our new place, we could go back and get the rest. We rode on his horse for a day and a half before he turned off the road and into the woods. Where she was waiting for us.”

“The other woman?” I asked, and Eris nodded.

“He pushed me off the horse and she grabbed me, pinning me to the ground while he searched my bag for the money. Then, she attacked me with a knife while he watched. She even chopped off all my hair.” She reached up and tugged on a short strand. “I don’t even know how he found out about my inheritance, unless…”

I gulped in guilt. “Unless he read your diary.”

She sighed and covered her face in her hands. “I’m such a fool. A fool for believing he had changed. I should have just left when I got the money, but I was waiting for the right time.” She laid her hands back down on the bed and looked back at me, a strange expression on her face, as if she were still trying to parse out if I was real or not. “I swear this all feels like a dream.”

“I’m certain it does,” I replied gently. “How much can you remember from your stay here?”

“It’s hazy. I think I’ve been drifting in and out of awareness. I’ve seen all manner of strange creature while I lay here.”

I chuckled. “That’s to be expected. Do you know where you are?”

She shook her head.

“Has word gotten to your town of the farm run by humans and non-humans? A family of misfits?”

“I thought that was a tall tale,” She said.

“No tales here, Miss, unless you count mine,” I said, swishing my tail back and forth. She smiled weakly. It was something. “Anyway, I should stop bothering you. I’ll let you rest and tell Mama your lucid. Don’t worry, lass. You’re safe now.”

Laying back, her smile withered and she stared at the ceiling.

Mother was please to hear that she was at last regaining something of her former mental state, and made her a bowl of fruit with fresh grains, hoping she could stomach more than the gruel she’d been eating for the past few weeks. Peeking in, Eris seemed to be thrilled at the new dish.

Eris was well enough to sit with us at the adult table during dinner, while the older children ate on the porch as normal, and she relayed her story to the rest of the family to their disgust and disbelief. After she was finished telling her tale, we discussed what should be done.

“We should hunt the bastard down,” I growled angrily. Kurra yipped in agreement. “Him and his bitch.”

“We’re not fit to judge their guilt or innocence,” Reed said. “This is a human issue. It doesn’t involve non-humans. We should, at most, inform the town elders of what happened and let them decide on the best course of action.”

“Humans are unreliable,” Birch disagreed. He backpedaled when his human family members made noises of dissent. “Present company excluded, of course. I’m just saying, if we left it to the humans, nothing would be done about it.”

“I think I’d have to agree,” Yala said, feeding her youngest child from her own plate. He was a cervitaur hybrid, having two legs rather than four like his father and older sister, and was sitting in a raised chair. “Everyone in my village knew my mother was hurting me and no one did anything. ‘A family matter,’ they all said. ‘None of our business.’ It’s only their business when someone dies.”

Reed absentmindedly stroked his wife’s hair.

“But someone almost did die,” Cetzu replied. “Would they not care about that?”

“Cetzu, the only humans you’ve ever known are Mama and your sisters, and the few humans who stop here to trade. The human world is much crueler than you know,” Birch told him.

“Hey, I know plenty about how cruel humans can be,” He replied neutrally. “Did not my own original human parents leave me to die?”

“Your fae parents did as well,” Caeli argued. “Humans aren’t the only race that is cruel.”

“We’re not arguing that,” Birch said. “We’re discussing whether or not humans can be trusted to make the right decision in matters like these.”

Caeli and Yala seemed to take offense to this notion and opened their mouths to retort when I held up my paws.

“Wait, everyone stop,” I said. “Why don’t we asked Eris what she wants to do and make a decision based on that?”

That silenced everyone, and they looked to Eris, who seemed surprised.

“I…” She swallowed hard and sucked in a deep breath. “I would like to see him punished. The both of them. But I share your concern about whether or not my village’s elders will take the accusations seriously or not. If they do, there would be a trial, and there’s every possibility could get off free as birds. What would I do then?”

“A compromise, then,” Kurra suggested. “We bring it to the elders, and let them make a decision. If their decision is to dismiss it, or they take it seriously and the trial goes badly, then we’ll fix it ourselves. We give the humans a chance to do the right thing. If they can’t be trusted to do so, then we’ll do it for them.”

There was a murmur around the table. Everyone seemed pleased with this idea.

“Mother, Father, you’ve been quiet until now, but as always, you have final say. What are your thoughts?” I asked.

Mother and Father looked at each other for a long, silent minute. They had been together for so long now, that it seemed they could communicate without words.

“When we started this place,” My father said. “When we began taking in children and and giving shelter to the mistreated, it was with the understanding that we would protect those who needed protecting. We decided that, while we wouldn’t declare war over every slight against us, we would make sure those who hurt us paid the price for it. This young woman is now under our protection, and as such, she is now part of the family, which makes her enemies our enemies.”

Mother nodded. “Vengeance and justice are two sides of the same coin. This plan is a good one. We will contact the village elders and give them testimony once Eris has healed enough to travel. If they don’t take her seriously, or should the trial fail, we will take matters into our own hands.” She looked at Eris questioningly. “Does this sound agreeable to you, dear?”

Eris nodded immediately. “Yes, I agree. Thank you for your help. It means so much to me.”

“Think nothing of it, darling,” Mother said. “You’re family now, and family looks after it’s own. Now, let’s get you back to bed.”

Later, while everyone had laid down for the night, I again found that sleep eluded me. Was Rory still in the village? Would he have run, or perhaps he told the villagers that Eris left him? There was only one way to find out.

I got up and stretched my legs, like I always did before a long run. It was time to pay Rory a visit.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After discovering a new obstacle in the pursuit to punish Rory and his mistress for Eris's attempted murder, the family calls on friends to assist them as they take their accusations before the town's council.

Getting to the settlement outside of the Willowshield stronghold took less than an hour at full sprint, though I had to admit I was rather winded by the time the I got there.

Apparently the tavern had been built in the weeks that Eris had been staying with us, and it was still fairly full at this hour, judging from the peek I took in one of the windows at the back near the treeline. I would have bet anything that if Rory hadn’t left town, he’d be in there, but I didn’t know what he looked like. Keeping to the shadows, I dropped back down on all fours and sniffed the ground, trying to find Eris’s scent. If I could find the house she shared with Rory, I could get his scent and find him, as well.

There were maybe two dozen houses fully constructed and a few dozen more in the process of being built. There was only one that looked as if it had been there for more than the three years the town had been settled and it was at the very end of the road. In fact, this one looked decades old.

Ah, this made sense. Eris said in her diary that Rory was well off and that his parents had left him their house. Rory’s parents must have owned the land out here, and Rory was selling or renting parcels of land to settlers, slowly making a new town that he basically owned. It was definitely a smart business move. No wonder his house was so large compared to the new ones.

I slumped. That raised an entirely new problem: if Rory was the landowner of the entire settlement, that meant he was a member of the town council, perhaps the council itself. Did Eris know about this? All she mentioned in her diary was that he was rich and respected, not that he practically owned the town. This was something I’d have to ask her, perhaps privately to spare her embarrassment.

One thing was for sure: if he had a lot of money wrapped up in this town, he definitely wouldn’t run off.

I went to the house, which was really a manor by the standards of the rest of the settlement, and went inside. The door wasn’t even locked.

Sniffing, I caught faint threads of Eris’s scent, though there were two other scents that were much stronger. It seemed the mistress had done much to erase Eris’s presence from her marital home, and it disgusted me. But traces were there, and I sought them out.

I found a forgotten letter swept under a floorboard from her mother and a scarf that she must had knitted herself, as it smelled of her and nothing else. It was a man’s scarf, and it had been kicked under a wardrobe. I didn’t know if she’d want it, but I took it anyway. I found a brush with long strands of her bright blonde hair in it, and though her hair was too short to be brushed now, I took it, too. There were other things, small things that she may have overlooked when she packed to go to what she hoped would be a new beginning. I found a bag to put it all in and slung it around my neck.

Then, to business. I found his clothing in the wardrobe and took a deep sniff. With his scent in my nose, I followed a fresh trail back out of the house and, sure enough, it lead me to the tavern.

I looked in, and I saw several men gathered around tables. Some were in high spirits, others were tired and winding down. But there was one man sitting with a few men and a woman. He was a thin, smarmy looking fellow with a shrewd eye and long face. His expression was sour and he was already in his cups, and the woman seemed like she was attempting to console him. Anyone looking from the outside could see it was an act.

Over the din, I strained to hear the conversation.

“She probably ran of with some orc pig,” He was saying, his voice thick with fake tears. “She’s likely in the stronghold, shacked up with one of those savages. And what can I do, eh? We’re not fighters, we’re settlers.”

“If she wants to leave such a good man for one of those barbarians, then it’s her loss,” the woman beside him simpered. His companions murmured agreement.

I listened to the conversation for quite a few minutes, and it continued in the same vein: calling Eris a harlot and a heartbreaker, leaving her poor, loving husband who’d given her everything to be some orc raider’s whore. Ugh, what utter tripe. It was all I could do to stop myself from snarling and alerting everyone to my presence.

This was all I needed. I knew he wasn’t going anywhere, so when Eris was well enough to confront him, he’s still be here. I did worry about her reception when she returned. She had the scars and the story, but still. I worried.

I made it back to the farm before midnight, and I was surprised to find Eris sitting in a rocking chair on the porch.

“Have a good run, did you?” She asked dryly.

I shrugged bashfully as I stepped up. “Yeah. Tired.”

“Hmm,” She hummed. She nodded her head at the bag, which I was sure she recognized. “Whatcha got there?”

“I, uh…” I pulled the bag over my head and handed it to her. “I went to the settlement to make sure Rory hadn’t run off and found some of your belongings. I… I thought you should have them back.”

She smiled a little. “That was… really kind of you.” She took the bag and looked through it. “What’s Rory telling everyone?”

“That you’re shacked up with an orc in Willowshield,” I said with distaste.

She snorted delicately. “That figures.” She pulled out the scarf from the bag and stared at it. “I made this for him for our second wedding anniversary. I always thought it was odd that he never wore it.” She looked at me thoughtfully, then wrapped the scarf around my neck twice. “Huh. Suits you better, anyway.”

I was surprised by this, touching the scarf gently. The fiber was soft and comfortable, even to my callused paw pads. She was right, the neutral blues, greens, and browns did complement my fur. I’d never worn clothes before, but I made no attempt to remove it.

“Thanks,” I said diffidently. I crouched down next to her as she continued to sift through the bag. “Eris, I need to ask you about Rory, though I know he’s likely the last thing you’d want to discuss.”

She pulled out the brush and gazed at it, raising her hand to pat her shorn head absently. “What is it?”

“You mentioned he was rich. Well, the words you used were ‘well-off.’ Do you know where his money came from?”

“He inherited it from his parents when they died,” She replied, putting the items back in the bag and holding it in her lap.

“Where did they get it from?” I asked.

She frowned. “I don’t know. It never occurred to me to ask. It was his money, his business.”

“So you didn’t know that he owns the settlement, specifically the land the settlement is built on?”

She was completely silent, gazing blankly at me and blinking. “What?”

“It’s only a theory, but based on what I saw, it makes the most sense,” I said. “His house is much older than all the others, which means it’s been there since before the town was settled. The only way that could be is if he owned the land. The orcs at the stronghold wouldn’t allow humans to just built a house in their woods unless a lot of money changed hands. They would had to have owned the land or the orcs would have run his family off before they’d even begun clearing the trees to start laying a foundation.”

Eris bent forward and hung her head, covering her face with her hands. “Gods, I’m so stupid. I… I married him when I was barely seventeen. I was just happy to have a roof over my head and to lighten the load on my mother that I didn’t ask questions. Rory had been a friend of mine, so I never had reason to question him. I never thought to… I never noticed… I was just concerned with being a good wife, I…” She sighed and wiped her eyes. “I’m such a fool.” She looked at me with a pained expression. “This is going to be more trouble than we thought, isn’t it?”

“I’m afraid so,” I said morosely. “If he holds the deeds to every house in that town, then all he has to do is threaten to revoke their leases and he has them by the throat.”

She sighed again and scrubbed her face. “So what do we do?”

“Well…” I said slowly. “You are still his wife. If… if he were to die, you would inherit both the land and the house, which means the town would then, in essence, belong to you.”

She stared at me long and hard. “I… I don’t know if that’s something I want.”

“It’s an option, nothing more,” I said, shrugging. “What we do now is up to you.”

“Up to me,” She said quietly. “I’ve never been asked to make a decision before. Marrying Rory wasn’t really a decision to make; it was the only option I had, and it seemed like a good on at the time. I was happy, even. Mother made all the decisions when I was a child. Rory made all the decisions when I was married. I was always obedient to a fault and never stepped a toe out of line, comfortable to let others decide for me. I’ve never been expected to decide… anything for myself.”

“Now’s a good time to start,” I said. “You are your own person, Eris. You’ve been a dutiful daughter and a doting wife. Now it’s time to stand on your own.”

“I don’t know if I can,” She whispered, a tear streaking down her face.

“Well, then,” I said, holding out my hand. “Do you think you can stand with a friend?”

She huffed a laugh and wiped her cheek, laying her hand in mine. “I think so.”

The next morning, Eris and I addressed the family with the new obstacle. After being admonished by Mother for doing something so reckless, we began discussing options. Kurra eyed the scarf around my neck and smirked at me, but said nothing.

“First, we need to address the allegations that Eris herself has been unfaithful,” Father said. “Rory has made the claim that Eris has run off with an orc from the Willowshield stronghold to the north of the settlement. We should send someone to speak to the chief and corroborate that Eris has never been there.”

“That’s a good idea,” Mother said. “Kurra? You have a friend there, yes?”

“Yeah, Padjat Ridgerunner. He’s the horse breeder for the stronghold. Good man. I’ve delivered tack for him before.”

“Do you think he can get you in to talk to the chief?”

“I can certainly ask,” He said. “I’ll go now.”

Mother nodded. “Be careful,” She called as he darted out of the house. He gave a whooping laugh from the distance in reply.

“The next thing we should consider is that he may not own all of the town,” Caeli said. “If you’re buying a house that’s already been built, then you’d likely still have a landlord, but if you were to build a house, you’d have to buy the land from someone before building. If people are building as opposed to buying houses, it’s likely that he may not hold power over all of the people in the settlement.”

“That’s encouraging,” Yala said. “How would we find out, though? I’d hate to saunter into town with these accusations and find that most of the town is in Rory’s pocket.”

“I did have a friend in town,” Eris said. “Tawny. We’d talk all the time when Rory was out. She was older than me and much more savvy about how the town functioned. She could help us find out who’s beholden to Rory and who is independent from him.”

“That’s another avenue,” Mother said. “Caeli, would you be up to making the trip? Birch can go with you. Bring some of the spring herbs with you and go under the guise of trade.”

Caeli and Birch both nodded and headed for the storeroom in the barn.

“What else can we do?” I asked.

“Currently, nothing,” Father said. “We need more information before we can move forward with any plan. And young Eris is still healing. At this point, all we can do is wait.”

I growled quietly. I didn’t want to wait. I wanted to move now. I wanted to do something productive. I wanted to eat Rory’s liver while he was still breathing. It was all I could do to sit still.

I felt a tug on the scarf and looked down. Eris had plucked at it under the dining table to get my attention. I looked at her.

 _It’s alright_ , she mouthed to me. _I know how you feel_.

I settled. I imagined she was in a more anxious state than I was. I dared to reach for her hand under the table, and she didn’t shake me off.

Caeli, Birch, and Kurra were gone overnight, and when they returned, they all had news.

“I spoke to the chief at Willowshield,” Kurra said. “I told him the entire story, and he’s willing to testify at a trial, should there be one, that Eris has never set foot in the stronghold. He’s also offering a man or two for Eris’s security, should we need it.”

“That’s appreciated,” Eris said.

“Even more good news,” Caeli said. “I found Tawny and told her everything. Apparently, Rory is more of a businessman than he is a leader. There is a town council, but he is not a member by choice.”

“Aye, and the council all own the land on which their houses were built, so they don’t owe Rory anything,” Birch said. “Not just that, but the gossip at the tavern is that some people are questioning Rory’s side of the story, especially considering he moved a new woman in within weeks of Eris’s ‘leaving’.”

“So there’s a chance,” Eris said.

“A chance,” Mother said. “You still have another week at least before I’m comfortable with you traveling back to the settlement, but we can gather our allies during that time and come up with a concise course of action.”

Eris nodded, a new determination on her face.

That evening, after dinner, Eris sat on the porch in the rocking chair she favored, holding the hairbrush she couldn’t use. Her hair was back growing slowly, but the brush was more of a paperweight than a functional tool at the moment. I was sitting on my haunches with my head on my forepaws like an overgrown guard dog at her feet. We had grown comfortable in each other’s company over the last few weeks. She said that she felt safer when I was nearby.

“Feera?” She asked quietly.

I turned my head to look at her and cocked it to one side. “Yes?”

“You’ll be with me, won’t you?” She asked. “During all of this? When we go to the settlement, when we confront Rory, if there’s actually a trial, you’ll stay with me?”

“Of course,” I said without hesitation. “I’ll be there.”

“I’m… scared to see him again,” She admitted, her voice wavering. “I’m scared to see both of them. They tried to kill me when last I saw them. I know when I see their faces again, all I’ll be thinking about is that knife going into my chest over and over and the cold look on his face as he watched her do it. I’m scared to death.”

I got up on my hind legs and took her hands in my paws. “I swear on my life, I won’t let them or anyone else hurt you. They’ll pay for what they did to you, one way or another. Even if I have to do it myself, they will pay.”

Her face crumpled and she reached for me, pulling me into an embrace. Her scent had always been pleasant to me, but up close like this, it was intoxicating. She cried into my fur, her fingers gripping the hackles on the back of my neck, and I held her until her tears stopped.

“I’m with you, Eris,” I said. “For as long as you need me.”

The time had come to bring the accusations against Rory to the council. The chief of Willowshield himself, Akjan, came to lend support, as well as two of his most trusted warriors as security. Mother, Lymera, Birch, and Caeli would accompany us to the settlement, while Cetzu and Kurra would patrol the perimeter to ensure Rory and his mistress, who’s name was Thereasa, didn’t attempt to flee during the proceedings.

Eris chose a dress that put the still-healing wounds of her neck, chest, and arms on full display. She wouldn’t be able to walk the distance to the settlement, so Birch offered to let her ride with him, which is something centaurs would only do in very special circumstances.

I helped her climb up on Birch’s back side-saddle and she clutched the hem of his tunic to keep herself steady.

“Scared?” I asked her as she settled on Birch’s back.

She nodded, her face grim and hollow, though she smiled a little when she saw the scarf she’d given me around my neck. She plucked at it and gave me a questioning look.

“Caeli says we should wear clothes when we’re around other humans,” I explained. “Going without makes humans see us as animals sometimes. Besides, it suits me.”

She gave me a wide smile. “Yeah. It does.”

Using the roads, it was a four hour trip to the settlement going at a walking pace. Mother didn’t want us to go too fast in case the motion reopened Eris’s wounds. Her poor health prior to the attempt on her life was making her recovery slower than normal.

The eight of us walking into town caused quite a stir, especially as we were accompanied by the chief of Willowshield himself. When Rory came out of his house to see what the fuss was about, he practically shit himself at the sight of us. When he saw Eris riding on Birch, all the color drained from his face and he looked fit to faint.

“Bring out your leaders!” Akjan bellowed. “We have business here!”

“Perhaps a little less aggressive, Akjan,” Mother said in an undertone.

“I’m an orc, Missus,” He replied, a laugh in his voice. “I don’t know how to be less aggressive.”

His lieutenants chuckled.

Three men cautiously approached us. One was in his late sixties and the other two looked to be in their forties.

“I am Elder Powell,” The older one said. “State your business.”

“Are you three the council of this settlement?” Mother asked.

“We are,” He replied. “And who might you be?”

“My name is Ryel,” Mother said, her voice commanding. “My family found a member of your community near death in the forest. We have been caring for her and have returned with her to levy accusations of attempted murder against her husband and his mistress.”

I helped Eris down and assisted her in stepping forward.

“Eris!” Elder Powell said. “Where have you been?”

“With these fine people, recovering,” She replied. “Rory and Thereasa tried to kill me and left me for dead in the woods. These people found me and nursed me back to health.”

“Lies!" Rory said, regaining his voice. “Look! She’s with that orc rabble! I told you she’d run off with them!”

The orcs roared at Rory, and he yelped and jumped back. Half the town jumped.

“The young miss has not been in our company,” Chief Akjan said. “In fact, I’m more than confident she’s never set foot in Willowshield.”

“These are serious accusations, Eris,” Elder Powell said. “What proof do you have to support your claim?”

“Use your eyes, Emory,” She said, pulling at the neckline of her gown. The stab wounds, though closed, were dark red in color and prominent against the paleness of her skin. “Are you suggesting I did this to myself?”

There were shocked gasps from the growing crowd.

“If she didn’t run off to the stronghold, then why are they here?” Thereasa asked.

Eris tensed next to me, and I took her hand a squeezed it.

“We were called to aid by our friends,” Chief Akjan replied. “They were concerned for this young woman’s safety.”

“So, how are we to proceed, then?” One of the younger council members asked.

“We must take this seriously, Erikur” The elder said. “Rory, Thereasa, I’m afraid we’ll need to take you into custody until we can sort this out.”

Rory resignedly allowed the orcs to come forward and flank him, but Thereasa began to panic.

“He told me to do it!” She shrieked, pointing at Rory. “He told me she was going to leave him and take all his money!”

“You bitch!” Rory shouted. “She’s lying! She did it on her own! She’s obsessed with me! She was jealous of my love for Eris and wouldn’t take no for an answer!”

“Horseshit! He said she was stealing from him and refused to give him a child!” Thereasa yelled in reply. “He said she wouldn’t divorce him and it was the only way we could be together! I didn’t want to do it, he forced me!”

“You liar!” Eris exploded. “You were the one wielding the knife! You stabbed me over and over like I was a rabid animal! You cut off all of my hair!”

“You lying slut!” Thereasa shot back.

“Enough!” Chief Akjan bellowed. “Take them!”

His orcs and several townsmen subdued both Rory and Thereasa, separating them and tying their hands. Rory struggled vainly and Thereasa cried loudly, protesting her innocence. The town had no sheriff or jail, so they were to be kept in the wine cellar of the tavern with the orc lieutenants guarding them.

The town’s council came forward and the elder spoke. “You will all testify to the validity of these claims?”

“Yes,” Ryel said. “That’s why we’re here.”

“Then we would like to interview you all separately, just to make sure all your stories support each other, if that is acceptable.”

“We agree,” Ryel said.

“Very well. Then we will speak to the young woman first and have her story.”

Eris nodded nervously and pulled me forward.

“No, madam, we need to speak to you alone.”

Eris took a shaky breath, frozen. I squeezed her hand again.

“It’s alright. I’ll be right outside.”

She let out her breath explosively and nodded, a grimace of worry on her face, and stepped into the tavern with the council.

I paced outside on all fours as she was inside. They had shuttered the windows, so the conversation was muffled.

“She’ll be alright,” Mother said, patting my head. “Don’t look so worried. She’s stronger than she thinks.”

“I know, Mama,” I said. “But I can’t help it.”

“Well, at least stand up so you don’t dirty that nice scarf she gave you,” She said with a smile.

I looked down. Oh. It was dragging the grass. I stood.

Eventually the doors opened and Eris came out, looking tired but relieved.

“Are you alright?” I asked her, offering her my arm and helping her to sit on the bench just outside.

“Yes, I’m fine,” She replied. “It was just… draining.”

“Gnoll,” The elder said, stepping out after Eris. “You were the first to find her, yes?”

“Yes, sir,” I replied.

“We’d like to speak with you next, then,” He replied and stepped aside so that I could pass. I looked at Mother, then at Eris, and went in.

I described catching her scent in the rain, then following it to her grave and digging her out. I told them what I heard her say while waiting for help, then mentioned her diary, which they had in their hands. I told them what I’d read in it, and what she told us when she awoke from her long unawareness following the attack. They thanked me and dismissed me, and called Mother in after.

Eris looked exhausted, leaning against the building. “I want to lie down,” She said, her eyelids heavy.

I nodded and picked her up, asking Birch to explain where we’d gone should they need us again, and took her back to Rory’s house. She was asleep before we arrived. I kicked open the door and laid her on the bed in the bedroom, covering her. She looked so worn out. _Oh Mother. How could I not worry for this lovely, wounded creature?_

Time passed, and the interviews with my family and allies were concluded. I was told by Mother, who had stopped round after her interview, that both Rory and Thereasa were going to be given their chance to make statements, separately, and then the council would deliberate.

“How’s she doing?” Mother asked in a quiet voice, trying not to wake Eris.

“She’s exhausted and concerned, and has every right to be,” I said, turning to look at the room where she was resting.

“Don’t worry,” Mother said. “One way or another, we’ll see justice served.”

I nodded and she left.

Deliberations went on well into the evening, and Mother decided she and the others would stay at the inn for the evening. Unfortunately, the inn wasn’t built for four-legged folk, so Birch would be staying in a stable, but he was good-natured about it and didn’t complain as long as they let him drink in there.

It was dinnertime when Eris finally woke up. She came out of the bedroom, staring around her anxiously until she saw me at the fire, stirring a pot, and visibly relaxed.

“What’s happened?” She asked.

“Everyone has given their testimony,” I said, tasting the soup. “The council is deliberating. We should know tomorrow what their decision will be.”

“And if it’s not in our favor?” She asked, coming to sit at the dining table.

“Like we told you,” I said, smiling. “We’ll take care of it.”

She nodded, then smiled, narrowing her eyes. “Are you cooking?”

“Yep,” I replied. “Me and the boys go on hunting trips all the time. We can eat meat raw, but it tastes better cooked. I found some fresh deer meat and vegetables in the pantry, so I thought a nice soup would help restore your strength.”

“You’re so sweet, Feera,” She said, sitting at the table. “I should have married you.”

I paused for a second in my stirring, but tried not to react. Marry me? What an odd notion. I was just a refugee adopted by a family of misfits. She must just have been playing.

“Can you tell me where the bowls are? Soup is almost ready,” I said.

“I’ll get them,” She said, standing.

“No, no, it’s okay, I’ll--” I stopped as she ran right into me. I reached out to grab her, wrapping my arms around her back, to keep her from falling backwards. We stared at each other for a long moment before I came to my senses.

“I’m… I’m sorry,” I said, though I didn’t release her. “I didn’t reopen any of your wounds, did I? Are you in pain?”

“No, no, I’m fine,” She said, her hands on my chest.

I slowly released her and stepped back.

“Um… the soup will scorch, I should move it away from the fire,” I said.

“Right,” She replied slowly. “I’ll… get those bowls.”

Dinner was a little awkward, during which we kept stealing glances at each other and looking away when we got caught.

“So…” I began. “What are you going to do after this? After… whatever happens here.”

“I don’t know,” She replied. “I’ve been thinking about what you said, about owning this house and the land. I think I’d be okay with the house, if I purged it of everything that reminded me of Rory. But the land… I just... I just don’t think I want all of that. I don’t want to be a landlady, I just want a quiet life.” She lay her spoon down and stared into her bowl. “I just want to be happy. And… not scared.”

I looked at her, shoulders hunched, face long, eyes downcast. And I took a breath.

“I’ve… I’ve never talked about this… with anyone… I mean, my family knows about it, but we don’t… talk about it. Not even my brother and me.”

She looked up at me, her eyes shifting from haunted to curious.

“My brother and I aren’t actually twins,” I said. “We were from a litter of four, two boys and two girls. The girls were perfect little gnolls, large and aggressive, but my brother and I were small. Runts. For most gnolls, having runts is unacceptable. We’re usually killed at birth, but for some reason we were kept alive. We didn’t know when we were young that we were supposed to die, but we did know that we were treated differently.

“One day, when we were maybe four or five, or birth parents brought us to an arena. They told us that if we stayed there, we’d get stronger, like gnolls should be. Then they left us there. And never came back. They had sold us.”

“Oh, gods,” Eris said.

“What we saw…” He said. “The things we had to do… You know, in some arenas, child-fights are pretty popular. Sometimes they pitted stronger species, like us, against full grown species that are naturally weaker, like fauns or goblins. The terms were always the same. Two enter, one leaves.” I pushed my bowl away, ashamed. “It took two years, but we finally dug our way out. We couldn’t save everyone, but we tried. We escaped into the woods, hoping to hide there, live off the land, and protect each other. And… that’s when Mother and Father found us. They rescued us.”

She watched me with sorrow and sympathy in her eyes.

“We didn’t trust them at first,” I told her. “We didn’t trust anyone. It took years for us to realize that they loved us, and would never do to us what our birth parents had done. Learning to trust again after all we had been through was the hardest lesson we ever learned. But I’m grateful for it now.” I looked at her. “There are good people and bad people. Sometimes we trust the wrong ones, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t trust at all.”

She nodded, tears rolling down her face. “This is some real good soup,” She said with a watery smile.

I laughed, a high-pitched gnoll giggle. “Thanks.”

She finished her bowl and asked for seconds, then thirds. I was both happy that she enjoyed my food and that she was eating well. She was still extremely thin and she’d had a poor appetite ever since we’d rescued her. She insisted on washing the dishes and told me I wasn’t allowed to help, so I watched her with a smile on my face.

This… was nice. Just us two, not a house full of siblings talking over each other. I loved my family more than anything in the world, but there was so many of them now, and it could be… stifling.

Well, one lives the life one is given, I suppose. Tomorrow there would be decisions to make. But it was nice pretending to play house with Eris, even if it was just for a night.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Justice finally comes for Rory, but afterward, important decisions must be made for the future of the settlement and Eris, decisions that involve Feera.

Mother came round one last time before nightfall to check on Eris’s condition, and felt comfortable enough to let her sleep on her own without one of us nearby. When Eris asked if I could stay, a request that surprised me, Mother smiled a little slyly and said simply that I was an adult and could make my own decisions. So I stayed.

I was in the kitchen area, giving Eris some privacy so that she could wash and change for bed, when she called me into the room. Worried by her tone, I came in to find her dressed and standing next to the bed, staring at it like there was a viper poised to strike right in the middle of the sheets.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“I don’t want to sleep in this bed,” She said. “I mean, I know you put me here when I passed out earlier, but waking up in it made my skin crawl.” She wrapped her arms around herself. “He defiled this bed. He took another woman to it and lied to me about it. I doubt they’ve even washed the sheets.” She shuddered.

I scratched my neck self-consciously. “Well… then… defile it right back! Tear the sheets to ribbons, slash the mattress. Hell, piss on it if it makes you feel better. We can find you another place to sleep. There are other bedrooms in this house, right? Sleep in one of those instead. I only laid you here because it was closest to the door, but you can sleep anywhere you like.”

She sucked in a very deep breath and shook her head. “Actually… I have another idea.”

“Oh?”

She turned to look at me, her face serious and not the least bit anxious. Her hands fidgeted with her nightgown.

“You said that I’m my own person now, right? That I can make my own choices and my own decisions?”

“Yes?” I replied, a little puzzled.

“Then…” She stepped closer to me. “I’ve decided… that I want you.”

Startled, I stepped back. “What do you mean? Want me for what?”

She closed the gap, grabbed me by my ears, and pressed a hard kiss to my muzzle. My lips weren’t exactly designed for kissing, but it felt very good. My arms wrapped around her body and I pressed her close to me.

When we parted, she said in a breathy voice, “Stay with me?”

I nodded. “For as long as you need me,” I replied in a rough whisper.

I was breathing hard, inhaling the scent of her body, the same sweet fragrance it had always been, but something was now undercutting it. Something heady and enticing. I’d smelled it at home numerous times and I knew what it meant. Even though I had never lain with anyone before, I knew what arousal smelled like.

She stepped back and carefully pulled her gown over her head, and I stopped before touching her again. I saw the scars on her body, barely healed, and it gave me pause.

“Perhaps we should wait,” I said, and her head snapped up.

“Why? Do you… not want me?” She asked, suddenly bringing the cloth of her gown up to her body, looking away in shame. “Do I look ugly?”

“No!” I said, taking the cloth away. “No, Eris, you’re lovely. But,” I gently touched one of the stab wounds on her ribcage, just under her breast. “I’m worried… with your injuries… I don’t want to hurt you.”

“Then be gentle, Feera,” She said, moving my paw upward so that I grazed her nipple. Her other hand reached up and pulled the scarf from around my neck, allowing it to fall to the floor. “And don’t be scared.”

She slid onto the bed and pulled me after her, pressing more kisses to my face. I helped her lay back in the bed and began to run my nose over her neck, across her shoulders, down the middle of her sternum, seeking out her tender place that made my mouth water, taking my time.

“What are you doing?” She asked softly, watching my progress down her skin.

“You smell so good,” I told her, pulling in slow, delicate sniffs of her skin. “I’ve always thought so. Like the burning of the autumn leaves, and honeysuckle on the vine. The smell of rain before it falls and the mountain snow melting into the river in spring. You smell of all my favorite things.” I found it, that place that made me lick my chops in anticipation. I pushed my nose between her legs, and she opened them for me, like a flower to sunlight. “You smell delicious.”

The first tentative lick made the muscles in her legs and stomach tense, and she released a short, rasping breath. My paws worked the muscles of her thighs gently. She moved slightly, writhing a little. I took this as encouragement, and lapped at her gently with enough pressure to make her pearl swell. I didn’t have much idea of what I was doing, but I’d overheard my sisters Caeli and Soraya talking about their love-making, and though hearing about it from my sisters made me want to lose my lunch, it made sense in this situation.

What I was doing seemed to be good enough for Eris, as she moaned louder and put a hand on my head, raking her fingers through my fur. She was throbbing against my tongue, and I pressed it to the hollow in between the folds of skin, working it into her and massaging the inner walls. She whimpered sharply and her grasp of my fur tightened.

Her thighs were shaking with every contraction of my tongue, every nudge of my nose, and I could feel her temperature go up and her heart racing from the inside. She was coming undone by my touch, and I reveled in it. I couldn’t believe she wanted _me_. I couldn’t believe, after all she’d been through, she chose _me_ to trust enough take to bed. I was elated, and extremely excited. I felt my length slip out of my sheath, pulsing in time with my heartbeat, and I ached to bury it inside of her.

She was gasping and moaning now, her hips moving in time with my licks, and I began licking and lipping back up her body, carefully avoiding using my teeth. I lathed my tongue over her breasts, one by one, and she squirmed in a way that I assumed meant she was enjoying it.

When I arrived back at her mouth, I tried to kiss her. It ended up more like squishing her bottom lip between mine, but it was a reasonable approximation. She modified it a little, improvising, and soon it felt like a real kiss. She even grazed my teeth with her tongue. I enjoyed the feeling immensely.

I looked down at my cock as it nudged her entrance, getting into position, and looked back at her.

“Are you sure?” I asked before I went any further. “We can stop now, if you want.”

“I don’t want,” She said, driving her nails into the fur of my lower back, down to the skin, and drawing them upward. It made my whole body tingle like a lightning storm, and I shivered at the sensation. “Please, Feera, I want to be with you.”

I was still trepidatious as I eased into her, though her eyes rolled back and she gave a drawn out groan of pleasure. I pushed myself all the way to my knot but stopping before I slipped it in. She wasn’t ready for that yet, and honestly, I didn’t think I was either. I pulled out slowly and sank back in several times, as gently as I could, staring at her face the entire time. She showed no sign of pain or discomfort, just a dreamy look in her eye.

“Faster,” She whispered, and I obliged her. I found a rhythm that we both seemed to like, and pressed my body against hers, nipping her ear. She giggled between gasps and teased mine in return.

Suddenly she gasped in a completely new way and tensed up underneath me.

“What?” I asked, instantly alarmed. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

“Pain,” She said, clutching her neck. I moved her hand and there was a cut. Blood dripped onto the bed.

“I’m so sorry!” I exclaimed, jumping off of her and backing away. “I’m so sorry, forgive me, I was trying so hard to be gentle!”

“I don’t think it was you,” She said, sitting up carefully and reaching under the pillow that had been next to her head. When she drew back her hand, she held a knife, the tip of which had a spot of blood on it. She inhaled a sharp, shuddering gasp and flung it across the room.

I found a cloth and picked the knife up off the floor. “Is… Is this…?”

She nodded, terror on her face and tears in her eyes. She folded inward, shrinking away from the offending weapon.

“I’ll deal with it,” I told her. “Stay here.” I went out into the kitchen and wrapped the knife in the cloth, tying it with twine. We would have to give it to the council.

When I went back into the room, Eris was pulling her nightgown back on.

“Yeah, that sort of killed the mood, didn’t it?” I said, rubbing my neck self-consciously.

“I’m sorry,” She said tearfully.

I held up my hands placatingly and went to sit next to her. “No, it’s completely fine!” I said. “Come into the kitchen and let me look at that cut, alright?”

She nodded and walked with her hand in mine back to the table. She sat patiently as I cleaned the wound.

I sighed heavily. “I was supposed to keep you safe, and then this happens.”

She shook her head, then winced when it pulled the cut. “How could we have known they’d have actually kept the murder weapon like some kind of morbid trophy? And in the bed, no less. That’s just sick.”

I nodded agreement. “The bleeding’s stopped. It wasn’t deep or close to the artery, thankfully.” I stood and picked up the wrapped knife. “I’m going to deliver this to the council. I think they’re still in the tavern. And I’ll bring back some spiced wine; it’ll help settle your nerves.”

“No, wait, I’ll get dressed and go with you,” She said, standing. “I… I don’t want to be alone.”

I nodded, and she dashed back into the bedroom to change.

We delivered the weapon to the council and informed them of where we found it, though we did not divulge the circumstances involved, and the council thanked us, saying they would examine it and take it into consideration. We then ordered a bottle of wine from Tawny, Eris’s friend, who ended up being the owner of the tavern, and went back to the house.

We both drank a cup each of the wine, and Eris declared that this day had been a hundred years long and she was ready for it to be over. I felt the same.

Eris refused to sleep in the marital bed and we reverted to my original idea of finding a different room and a different bed to sleep in. Eris had been right the first time; that bed was defiled and possibly cursed. As we lay down in one of the guestrooms together, she said she wanted the bed burned. I thought that was a grand idea.

The next morning, I woke early. The sky was just beginning to brighten and the pale light of the morning washed over Eris’s features. Gods, she was beautiful, and she smelled divine. For gnolls, a person’s scent was more attractive to us than how a person looked, and Eris smelled like heaven. I pressed my nose into the crook of her neck and just bathed my senses in it. I felt my cock rigid and exposed already.

My nose must have been cold, because she squealed and writhed. I captured her in my arms and held her fast, and she laughed.

“What’s gotten into you?” She said with a smile.

“It’s a shame we were interrupted last night,” I said, nuzzling her. “I feel like I should make it up to you.”

“Good idea,” She said, smiling, and kissed me in that special way we found worked for us. She rolled onto her back and pulled up her nightgown, tossing it over the side of the bed, and opening her body to me.

I didn’t hesitate this time. I knelt between her legs, touching the slit with my fingers. She was already dripping. I lined myself up again and eased into her with more confidence than I had last night, gripping her hips as I pushed inside as far as I could, and she moaned my name. Kneeling upright on my knees as I was, I could see the way her body moved as I bounced against her over and over. The way her small breasts swayed up and down with the rhythm, the way the muscles in her stomach tensed and relaxed, her open mouth and closed eyes, the sounds of her panting in time to the movement of my hips. One of her hands placed itself on my stomach and the other gripped the sheet next to her head.

“I love you, Feera,” She gasped. “I love you.”

“ _Eris,_ ” I groaned back, pressing my knot against her, pushing gently until it popped into place. She cried out and grabbed my wrists, her head flung back. I bend my body over hers, so I could kiss her as I pistoned into her, harder than I intended but I was having trouble controlling myself at this point.

“Oh gods, oh gods, oh gods,” She chanted, and I could feel her inner walls clamping down. An explosion went off inside me, and I felt myself release into her again and again with a roar, locked into place, unable to move until I was spent. Her body was rigid and clinging to mine as she cried out over and over.

Finally, I collapse, mindful of her injuries, and she wrapped her arms and legs around me, the both of us panting and gasping.

“Oh, gods,” She wheezed. “Are gnolls gifted with magic or something? It never felt like that before, not with him.”

“Then he was doing something terribly wrong,” I said with a chuckle. “I barely knew what I was doing. I just did what felt right.”

“I think the difference may have been that he just didn’t care,” She said as I pulled back to look at her face.

“I think you’re right about that,” I said, kissing her. “I care very much, Eris. Very, very much.”

Deliberations had concluded at midday, and we were asked to gather at the tavern, which seemed to be the default place of meeting at the settlement. Town hall was still being built. Most of the town was in attendance for the verdict. There was a stage where I assumed music would be played, but at the moment, Rory and Thereasa were standing there. Rory looked gaunt but defiant, and Thereasa was sobbing piteously, as if to garner sympathy.

My family and I shoulder to shoulder with Eris in solidarity. Eris stood between me and Mother. I held one of her hands and and Mother held the other. She was shaking.

“We have gone over witness testimony very carefully,” Elder Powell said to the crowd. “As well as the physical evidence.” He gestured to a table with both Eris’s diary and the knife. “We have listened both the victim’s statements, as well as the accused, and have come to a decision.”

He nodded at the orc flanking Rory, and the lieutenant pushed Rory forward.

“Rory Portmore,” Elder Powell said. “For the crimes of conspiracy to commit murder, accessory to murder, grievous bodily injury, torture, accessory after the fact, theft, and kidnapping, the council finds you guilty and sentences you to hang.”

There was a murmur from the crowd. Rory tried to protest, but he was gagged and held in place by the orc.

“Thereasa Gardner,” Elder Powell continued, and Thereasa was panicked, getting down on her knees and begging, which went unheeded. “For the crimes of conspiracy to commit murder, attempted murder, grievous bodily injury, torture, and theft, we find you guilty, and sentence you to hang.”

“No!” She shrieked. “You can’t! I… I’m pregnant!”

There was a loud gasp from the crowd. I sniffed the air and snorted.

“No, she’s not,” I called over the noise.

The crowd silenced.

“How can you be sure?” One of the council asked.

“A gnoll’s sense of smell is greater than any other species by a long mile. I have an adopted human sister and she’s been pregnant twice. I know what a pregnant woman smells like. She,” I jerked my chin at the woman. “Ain’t pregnant.”

“And how can we trust your word on that?”

“I followed the scent of blood and found a woman who’d been buried alive three feet down from more than two miles away in the middle of a flash flood,” I said dryly.

“He has a point,” The other council member said.

“I can also tell you that even if she were carrying a child, which she’s not, it wouldn’t be by him.” I pointed at Rory. “I can smell that, too; he’s impotent. No gold in his coin purse, if you catch my meaning.”

There was a snickering by the people around us.

“Don’t be crude, darling,” Mother said, though she was smirking.

“Is that why I couldn’t get pregnant?” Eris whispered in my ear. I nodded. “Huh,” she said. “That’s a relief.”

“It’s still your word against hers,” Elder Powell said. “How can we know for sure? Wait nine months?”

“It won’t take nine months, just one,” Tawny said. “Leave her locked up in the cellar. I’ll watch her for the month to see if she has her menses. She’ll bleed or she won’t. Either way, we’ll have an answer.”

“Very well,” Elder Powell said, then turned to Eris. “Erisandra Portmore, if you have anything you’d like to say to the condemned, now is the time.”

Squeezing my hand hard and then letting go, Eris stepped forward.

“Thatcher,” Eris said. “My name is Erisandra Thatcher.” She faced her two murderers and stared them down, taking a large breath.

“Until now, I’ve never needed to make a decision for myself. I was a normal woman who was comfortable being a daughter, a wife, and a mother; content to let the world pass me by as I cooked and cleaned and raised the children, with no higher aspirations than to watch those children grow up and become parents of their own. To grow old with the man I loved.”

She paused and glared at the pair, held fast by our orc allies.

“Because of the two of you, I’m not that person anymore. Now, I’m forced to make decisions I never wanted to make, and before you die, I want you to know what those decisions are.

“First, after the two of you are executed, you will be buried without tombstones. Instead, a jail will be built over your bodies to mark your graves and serve as a warning to anyone who would commit a crime against a member of this community. And I’m going to use your money to build that jail,” She said, addressing Rory. “When I inherit your property, I will do to you what you tried to do to me and erase every trace of your existence from it. I will sell everything you own, and what can’t be sold will be burned.”

Eris turned and addressed Akjan. “To the orcs who were my defenders, for their aid and protection, I will return one hundred acres of land for them to use as they please, with the hope that this town and the stronghold can continue to be allies.”  

Akjan bowed. “We accept gratefully. Our horse breeder has been complaining that there isn’t enough room in the stronghold to properly raise horses. A horse ranch sounds like a good use for the land. Thank you, lady.”

Eris nodded her head respectfully, and continued, now addressing the crowd. “To the townspeople, I void any leases or loans that are owed to Rory. You now own your land and your houses and own no debt to me or anyone else for your homes.”

There was cheering among many of the people gathered there.

“As the primary landowner, I would also like to request a place on the town’s council,” She said, turning to Elder Powell. He nodded, as did the other members. “Good. Then as my first act, I propose that this town needs a sheriff. There should have been some sort of investigation into my disappearance, but there wasn’t because no one was here to conduct it. The lack of law enforcement is a detriment to the safety of the people here, and will be more and more of a liability as the town continues to grow.”

“I agree,” Elder Powell said. “Do you have a candidate in mind?”

“I do,” Eris replied. “Feera.”

My jaw dropped. So did my mother’s and siblings’.

Elder Powell tapped his chin. “We will need to discuss this privately before making a decision, but Feera is a valid candidate, if he is willing.”

“I…” I looked from Eris, to my family, and back again, gulping. “I… I am willing.”

“Good,” Eris said, smiling at me. “My last decision is a name. With the construction of a town hall and a jail, as well as the appointment of a sheriff, this settlement will no longer be just a settlement, but a proper town. A proper town needs a proper name.”

She drew herself up, confident and strong despite the pain she was in, and I was breathless.

“Therefore, I name this town… Willowridge.”

Thereasa’s punishment would have to wait until signs presented themselves that she was or wasn’t pregnant, but there was no reason to delay Rory’s hanging. Eris found she hadn’t the stomach to watch it, and instead decided to scout a location for his burial as well as a good place to build a decent jailhouse. I accompanied her. Mother and our siblings said they would stay and watch the execution, to be sure justice was done.

“I can’t believe you recommended me for sheriff,” I said, incredulous.

“Why?” She said, smiling. “You’re the only reason I’m still alive. If you hadn’t sensed my blood when you did, I’d have bled to death or suffocated. You saved my life. Think of all the good you could do as a lawman. Or, law-gnoll, I suppose.” She chuckled.

“Do you really think I’d be good at it?” I asked.

“You’ll be an amazing sheriff,” She said without hesitation. “I have absolute faith in you.”

“It’s hard to have faith in myself,” I said distantly. “I’m just a runt and a refugee. A cast-off. It’s difficult to believe that I could make any sort of difference.”

She stopped and hugged me. “Remember when you said that learning to trust other people again was the hardest lesson?”

“Yeah,” I said, hugging her back.

“I think learning to trust yourself is going to be harder,” She said. “But I’ll help you. For as long as you need me.”

We found a place that would serve for the gravesites and the jail, and marked one of the trees with red paint. They would bury Rory here, under this tree. Thereasa would follow him in her own time. They wanted to be together in life, then let them sleep together in death. They deserved each other.

I returned home with my family that evening with the promise that I would be back to town in two days. I wanted to explain to the rest of the family about the job offer and that I was going to stay with Eris, regardless of whether or not they appointed me sheriff.

“Either way, I’m so proud of you, my son,” Father said, wrapping me up in his large wings. “You’ve grown into a fine man. Eris saw that. It’s why she chose you. And the town will see it, too. That sheriff position is as good as yours.”

“Thank you, Papa.”

He released me, and Kurra took his place. “It’s going to be weird without you around to annoy me,” He said.

“I won’t be far,” I told him. “It’s only an hour’s run for a gnoll. And I’ll visit when things are quiet.”

“You’d better,” He said, squeezing me tightly.

My other brothers jostled me, making a big deal about not making a big deal, though a tear or two was shed. My sisters wept openly, as did Asahi, Teya, and my little nephew, River. I consoled them, telling them that it wasn’t like they’d never see me again. But, they were kids. All or nothing was how they saw the world.

Two days later, I returned to town with all my things in tow. The first thing I did when I got back was take Eris to bed, where we stayed for nearly a full day. Immediately after that, we began to clear the house. She sold what could be sold, and then stacked what was to be burned. The old marital bed was hacked to splinters and a new one was built in it’s place.

Before the end of the week, I was appointed sheriff. Not everyone was happy about it, as the town was mostly human and a few townsfolk thought it should be human only, but the council had made it’s ruling. I was also to appoint my own deputy, and I sent word to the stronghold, asking if they had a man who’d be willing to take the job. Padcha Ridgerunner, my friend’s brother, accepted the job happily.

Finally, after two an a half weeks, Thereasa’s menses began, and she couldn’t avoid the noose any longer. Eris was present for this execution and oversaw the burial. Construction on the jailhouse began the next day.

The day that construction concluded on Town Hall, Eris asked me to marry her. I may have fainted, but don’t tell my brother that. We were married on the steps of Town Hall less than a month later with my family, friends, and the entire town in attendance, as well as Chief Akjan and our allies from the stronghold. Before the end of winter, Eris was carrying my child.

By this time, much of what was being built was completed, and new settlers were coming and purchasing property to build their own homes. We even had an apothecary and a physician preparing to settle here. The town was growing with each day that passed. Eris often had more money than she new what to do with, and usually put it back into the town, hiring the tradesmen to make furnishings for her house that was more suited to her needs.

Eris was due any day, and I couldn’t contain my excitement. The chance to be a better parent to my child than my birth parents were to me and my brother felt like a redemption of it’s own.

“Can you tell if it’s a boy or a girl?” She asked me one night as we were laying down for sleep.

“Smells like a boy,” I said.

“It’s not a litter, is it?” She asked nervously.

I laughed. “No, it’s just the one,” I said. “Though there’s no reason we couldn’t have more in the future.”

“I thought you liked having the house to ourselves,” She said, stroking my cheek. “No one yelling or underfoot. No chaos.”

“I did,” I said, sighing. “But… I kind of miss it now. Not that I want thirteen children, but two or three seem manageable amount of chaos.”

“Speaking of chaos,” She said with a groan, rubbing her stomach firmly. “He’s awfully restless.”

I placed my hand on her belly. He was quite active. I picked her up and laid her in my lap, rocking her back and forth. She clung to me, and before long she had fallen asleep. Laying a paw on her stomach again, it seemed as if he had, too.

I kissed her forehead, and then bent to kiss her belly. “Goodnight, my loves,” I whispered, and then lay her gently back on the bed, curling my body around hers.

Back when Mother and Father first found us, they told me and Kurra something that stuck with us: “How you start your life doesn’t decide where you end up. You do.”

It looks like they were right.


End file.
